1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a counting apparatus for counting the number of executions of a predetermined operation in electronic equipment or the like, a method, and a computer readable memory medium adapted for use in such an apparatus.
2 Related Background Art
For counting the total number of outputs of an image forming apparatus, a mechanical so-called hardware counter has generally been used. In such a hardware counter, it is difficult to decrease or forge the count once the counting is made, so that such a hardware counter is suitable for a system in which the service is charged according to the count.
However, with the development of image forming apparatuses with various service modes such as image reduction/enlargement, color/monochromatic printing, and copying/printing/faxing etc., there is an increasing demand for dividing the service charging system according to such services, and a corresponding increase in the number of hardware counters will result in a drawback of increased cost and space.
There may be employed a software counter for storing the counts in a semiconductor memory, thereby providing the required number of counters with a low cost and without causing an increase in the space.
However, such software counters tend to lose the information contained therein because of the structural nature thereof, thus being unreliable for use in a service charging system.
In consideration of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to improve the reliability of the software counter.
The above-mentioned object can be attained, according to an embodiment of the present invention, by a counting apparatus comprising execution detection means for detecting the execution of a predetermined operation, plural memory means for commonly storing the information relating to the number of execution of the operation upon each execution thereof, destruction detection means for detecting, at the storage of the above-mentioned information, whether the information stored in each memory means has been destructed, and correction means adapted, in case of detection of destruction of the information in one of the memory means, to correct the destructed information with the information of another memory means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a memory medium storing a program for executing an execution detecting step of detecting the execution of a predetermined operation, a destruction detecting step of detecting, after the above-mentioned detection of execution, whether the information in plural memory means for commonly storing the information relating to the number of execution of the operation has been destructed, and a correction step adapted, in case of detection of destruction of the information in one of the memory means, to correct the destructed information with the information of another memory means.
Other objects of the present invention, and the features thereof, will become fully apparent from the following description which is to be taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.